“Come,” Dargon said, placing a hand on Adam’s shoulder. 

The guard stared at Adam, uncertain. The undead were the biggest threat, but an elf in their village? It was inconceivable to think they had allowed one of their kind inside.

Eshva bolted past them, cutting their sight for a moment. Adam donned his helmet and grabbed his shield, following Dargon and Jurot to where Eshva had sprinted towards. The guard followed as well, not wanting to let the elf out of his sight.

Guards remained on the wall, shooting their bows towards the mass of undead. The villagers remained nearby, staffs, spears, and clubs on hand. There were a few villagers with large shields, with the two at each end ready to lift the shield, and the three in between with brooms in hand.

‘Brooms?’

Then it came. 

The rattling of undeath which would soon be upon them.

“Open the gates,” Dargon commanded to the guards, who straightened at the sound of the Iyrman’s voice. He grabbed his greatsword, throwing a casual glance back to Adam and Jurot. “Are you ready?”

Adam stared at Dargon, raising his brow. “Why do we want the gates to be open?” Adam asked, grabbing his warhammer. Jurot pulled up his shield and warhammer too, too young to fight with his pride in this battle. 

“How else are we going to destroy them?” Dargon replied, as though it were obvious.

The gates opened and the undead continued to pile into the pits. There were mostly skeletons, those of man and beast alike. Sprinkled within the undead were zombies, though their stinking rotten flesh had yet to permeate towards them.

Battle Order
D20 + 1 = 6 (5)

Eshva and Dargon charged on ahead, grinning wildly like savage beasts. They roared with excitement, almost losing themselves to their mindless rage. 

Eshva blasted apart several skeletons in a single swipe, using her warhammers with unrestrained abandon, smashing in skulls, ploughing through skeletons like they were made of glass. 

Dargon wound his greatsword behind him, before swinging it through several skeletons in a single swipe, causing bones to scatter everywhere, though mostly within the village. 

As the Iyrmen fought, the villagers would quickly step forward with their large shields and brooms, only slightly though, for none dared to draw too close to the Iyrmen. Then began to brush the bones away from the battlefield, with several members trailing after them, wielding staffs to protect the few who were on sweeping duty.

Adam blinked.

As bones rained down around them, a few skeletons managed to stumble past the pair of Iyrmen, wielding rusted blades and spears. The Iyrmen were dealing with the majority of the undead, leaving the few skeletons, which managed to slip past, to the younger generation. The villagers retreated, hiding behind their wooden shields, funnelling the undead to the two awaiting warriors.

Adam inhaled deeply, readying himself, with warhammer in hand. His heart pounded wildly, preparing for the first blow. The two skeletons then bolted towards Adam and Jurot, who remained some steps behind the open gate, allowing the few skeletons to pour in to their awaiting doom.

Unfortunate, Adam’s excitement got the best of him as he raised his shield, only for the skeleton to stab right through the side, striking the half elf against the chest.

Health: 13 -> 9

‘Oops.’ Adam flexed through the blow, exhaling deeply. ‘Come on, Adam! Look alive!’

Attack
D20 + 5 = 16 (11)
Hit!
1D6 + 1D3 + 4 = 8 (2)(2)
Vulnerability exploited!
16 damage!

Adam brought his dwarven made warhammer down on the skeleton like the wrath of an unmerciful god, the bones splintering and bursting downwards, bouncing away towards the awaiting people, who were watching the fight keenly in case they were needed.

XP: 810 -> 820

Beside Adam, Jurot wailed like a banshee, smashing his warhammer against the skeleton, causing it to burst into boney splinters. 

XP: 820 -> 830

On the Iyrman’s face was a wild grin, one which betrayed his Iyrman nature. 

Adam could feel it too.

The excitement.

The electricity.

Fighting side by side with Jurot, with the lives of people behind him. 

This was the first time the fight was bigger than himself, with real stakes. He understood that he was a line of defence against the deaths of many villagers, but even so, he couldn’t help but feel the boyish excitement fill his core. 

As the Iyrmen enjoyed their wanton slaughter of the undead, creating a mess which the villagers continued to sweep whilst hiding behind their large wooden shields, another pair of skeletons stepped forward. 

This time Adam was prepared, raising his shield towards the spear as it thrust towards his chest, clattering it aside. His arm throbbed slightly as he felt the heaviness of the blow. 

‘Holy!’ His eyes went wide, his heart skipping a beat. The skeleton’s blow would have been brutal if it had hit.

Attack
D20 + 5 = 24 (19)
Hit!
1D6 + 1D3 + 4 = 10 (3)(3)
Vulnerability exploited!
20 damage!

Hearing the roaring Iyrman beside him, Adam’s arm moved without a thought, though it moved more like a longsword as he thrust it forward through the chest of the skeleton, pulling the warhammer upwards so some of the bones would fall behind him. 

XP: 830 -> 840

However, the sweepers dared not to draw too close, as the raging Iyrman swung his warhammer so wildly, that it almost hit Adam, who swayed to the side away from Jurot. 

“Watch it,” Adam said, about to swing his warhammer when another skeleton appeared, charging right towards the half elf.

Attack
D20 + 5 = 25 (20)
Critical hit!
2D6 + 2D3 + 4 = 18 (4, 6)(1, 3)
Vulnerability exploited!
36 damage!

Adam stepped aside quickly, spinning with his warhammer in hand. The skeleton found air with its spear, but there was a blur of dwarven steel hammering against its side. With the momentum of the swing, Adam’s warhammer managed to find purchase in the skull of the second skeleton in front of Jurot, which had caused Jurot to duck, cutting through strands of his hair, before its bones rained down on the nearby villagers, causing them to squeal.

XP: 840 -> 860

“Sorry,” Adam said as Jurot sprang back up to his feet, cracking his neck quickly in the moment of respite. He flexed his muscles as another skeleton shambled forward with a rusty sabre in hand.

“It’s all yours,” Adam said. “Since I stole your kill.” Adam prepared his warhammer for another skeleton as Jurot stepped forward to challenge the skeleton. 

The undead creature wound its arm back, ready to slash downward, but Jurot was too quick, stepping up to it and slamming his shield through its front, crushing its knees as his warhammer swiped it, the bones slamming up against the wooden shields to their side.

XP: 860 -> 870

“Nice hit,” Adam said.

Jurot grunted, grinning more savagely. The pair of them were beginning to form a rhythm as three skeletons approached them.

Attack
D20 + 5 = 16 (11)
Hit!
1D6 + 1D3 + 4 = 10 (4)(2)
Vulnerability exploited!
20 damage!

 Adam had been prepared, stepping forward as a skeleton prepared its staff to strike him, only to find Adam’s warhammer smashing up against its face.

XP: 870 -> 880

 Another skeleton took the chance to swing towards the half elf with its shortsword, which was on the verge of shattering, but Adam brought up the butt of his warhammer to block it, causing it to chip. The dance had begun now, as Adam moved naturally, like a ballet dancer during a performance.

Attack
D20 + 5 = 12 (7)
Hit!
1D6 + 1D3 + 4 = 7 (1)(2)
Vulnerability exploited!
14 damage!

XP: 880 -> 890

“It’s rude to play with the dead, Jurot,” Adam said, watching as Jurot’s warhammer found itself stuck between a pair of broken ribs. 

“Watch out!” came a voice from the crowd, before Adam ducked under his shield, two blows clattering off his shield harmlessly, though he watched as a staff and an axe managed to force Jurot to step back. 

Attack
D20 + 5 = 16 (11)
Hit!
1D6 + 1D3 + 4 = 7 (1)(2)
Vulnerability exploited!
14 damage!

XP: 890 -> 900

Adam swiped upwards with his warhammer, breaking through the bone, watching the ribs break like breadsticks under his warhammer, creating some space between himself and a skeleton. ‘Concentrate, Adam.’

Jurot let out a calm exhale, but gripped his warhammer harder. Instead of using the warhammer, he punched through the skull of the skeleton ahead of him, blasting the bones aside. 

XP: 900 -> 910

“That’s one way to do it,” Adam said, readying to swipe the skeletons around with his warhammer, trying to keep his rhythm before they were swarmed the group. He had almost lost count of the skeletons. Bones clattered up against his side as half the ribs of another skeleton were blasted from Jurot’s side, who had almost fallen to a knee.

“Careful!” The guard from earlier took a second swipe with a secondary club he had wrestled off of one of the civilians. ‘Why the hell did they give me a spear?’ He flipped the clubs in his hands, readying them for another strike. 

They were now three, with four skeletons soon to be upon them, though one was swaying, ready to topple over at any moment. There was a growl from behind the skeletons. “Everything okay?” Dargon’s voice cut through the battle, boosting the morale of the guard beside them.

‘Right, there’s an Iyrman right there.’ This was the thought of the entire crowd, which surged with strength.

Jurot responded with a near howl. “Okay!” The voice boomed, causing the villagers to shout out to one another with clearer commands. 

Adam squatted before a skeleton, which swiped across where his torso had been with its blade. “We’re fine,” Adam confirmed, readying his blow, following the rhythm of the dance.

Adam heard a soft grunt beside him, his eyes snapping to the side. Jurot grit his teeth, dropping his warhammer, which thudded onto the ground. He grabbed the spear, which was firmly lodged in his gut, feeling the hot wet blood against his fingers. 

He crumpled like paper.

“Jurot!”

Now there were four skeletons beset upon Adam and a guard, who had drawn his spear against the half elf, with Jurot bleeding out between them at their feet.

The rhythm had broken.

 

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I thought I would die before finishing the tale of Blackwater Crisis, but it looks like Jurot might.